Weekend forecast: Mildest temps on Saturday; light snow in parts of Minnesota

Coolest temps north on Sunday

Our Friday afternoon temps will be 12 to 18 degrees warmer than our Thursday afternoon temps, but the winds will pick up in many locations.

Winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts near 50 mph, will be possible in southwestern Minnesota and parts of south-central Minnesota Friday afternoon and evening. Blowing and drifting snow is expected at times in those areas.

A wind advisory runs from noon to 9 p.m. for southwestern Minnesota and part of south-central Minnesota:

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Wind advisory Friday afternoon/evening
National Weather Service

The weekend

Our average Twin Cities high temperature is 29 degrees this time of year. We’ll top out in the low to mid-30s on Saturday. The southern half of Minnesota, plus most of western Wisconsin, will reach the 30s on Saturday, with highs in the 20s in northern Minnesota:

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Saturday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Saturday afternoon wind chills are expected to be in the 20s in the south, with teens to the north:

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Saturday 1 p.m. forecast wind chills
National Weather Service

Some single-digit wind chills are possible in the far northwest.

Sunday high temps reach the teens in the north, with 20s south:

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Sunday forecast highs
National Weather Service

The far northwest will only reach single-digit highs.

Sunday afternoon wind chills range from below zero in the northwest to lower 20s in far southeastern Minnesota, with wind chills in the teens in the Twin Cities metro area.

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Sunday 1 p.m. forecast wind chills
National Weather Service

Snow chances

Northwestern Minnesota could see some light snow showers Friday evening. Periods of light snow are possible in northern Minnesota and parts of central Minnesota and western Wisconsin overnight Friday night and Saturday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential snow pattern from Friday evening through Saturday evening:

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Simulated radar Friday evening through Saturday evening
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

You can hear updated weather information on the MPR network, and you’ll see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

Snow depths

If you have outdoor plans this weekend, you’ll be happy to know that there’s plenty of snow on the ground across most of Minnesota. Here’s the latest snow depth map, courtesy of the Minnesota State Climatology Office and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources:

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Minnesota snow depth
Minnesota State Climatology Office/Minnesota DNR

Much of northern Minnesota has 18 inches or more of snow cover, and parts of the northeast have more than 30 inches of snow on the ground. I’ll bet that many cross-country skiers, sledders, snowboarders and snowmobilers will be having some fun this weekend.

The official Twin Cities snow depth was 9 inches this Friday morning.

Weekend events

If you’re looking for weekend activity options, Explore Minnesota has a list of many events and festivals around the state. Among them is this weekend’s Nisswa Winter Jubilee. Activities will include a wood splitting contest, an ice fishing derby and a medallion hunt.

Nisswa, which is north of Brainerd, will see highs in the upper 20s Saturday and highs in the middle teens on Sunday. Nisswa has a chance of a snow flurry or a passing light snow shower on Saturday.

I hope you have a good weekend!